Expectedly electing to bat first, South Africa made the most of the ideal batting conditions. On a pitch that posed few questions to the batsmen, the Proteas rode on the exploits of openers Neil McKenzie and Graeme Smith, and an unconquered Hashim Amla to reach 304 for four at close.
Surprise ‘walker’
What could have been a highly satisfying day for Smith's men was somewhat marred by Kallis' surprising decision to walk when Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf had turned down a shout for a bat-pad catch off Harbhajan Singh at short-leg. Kallis is not the first to walk, nor will he be the last. But for someone who has believed in the credo that 'a batsman is not out until the umpire deems so,’ it was an unexpected move by the right-hander.   
Successfully weathering Kallis' departure, South Africa were once again looking ominous with Amla and Ashwell Prince piling on the misery with their controlled aggression.
But Prince, who teased Sourav Ganguly at short-leg on a couple occasions, ran out of luck when he decided to test Kumble's catching skills. The 37-year-old stretched to his left to hold on to the left-hander's offering off his own bowling for his second wicket.
Flat deck
To be fair to Indian pacers Rudra Pratap Singh and S Sreesanth, there was little on offer for them in terms of either swing or movement off the pitch. It came as no surprise that the four wickets to fall were shared equally by the spin duo of Kumble and Harbhajan.
The only time the pacers could have come into play was when the ball was at its newest. Right-arm quick Sreesanth did manage to beat the bat, but without any luck.
Midway through Smith's innings, the Kerala paceman elicited an inside edge which wicket-keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni collected unconvincingly, but from umpire Rauf’s reaction, it was clear that he didn't detect the edge itself in the first place.
Surviving the odd slip in concentration, Smith and McKenzie started from where they had left in Bangladesh, where they had constructed a world-record opening stand of 415. Barring the odd hit-and-miss attempt at deliveries in the corridor, both looked at ease against a four-man bowling attack after the hosts left out left-arm paceman Irfan Pathan.
The duo applied themselves quickly, showing great intent and intelligence during their century-plus partnership.
The left-right combination didn't aim for too many singles, a smart move under the extreme conditions, but maintained a brisk-scoring rate with an array of hits to the ropes. In fact, McKenzie's first single came after he faced 30 balls.               
Skipper’s guile
It needed the guile of Kumble to provide the breakthrough. Changing en-ds for his second spell, the skipper enticed Smith into playing early, and the miscued on-drive was snapped up by VVS Laxman at short mid-on. A good 132 runs had been added by that time, providing the desired solid start for the Proteas.
Kicking on in Amla’s company, McKenzie coasted to his highest Test score against India, but on the threshold of a well-deserved century, he edged an off-break from Harbhajan to be smartly caught by Rahul Dravid at slip.           
Amla held fort thereafter. The 24-year-old, who became the second South African on the day to post his highest individual score against India, will be eyeing three-figures while the Indians will be desperate to fire out the opposition as quickly as possible on the morrow.

SCORE BOARD

SOUTH AFRICA (I Innings):
Smith c Laxman b Kumble 73
(157m, 97b, 13x4)
McKenzie c Dravid b Harbhajan 94
(230m, 156b, 18x4)
Amla (batting) 85
(228m, 159b, 10x4)
Kallis c Jaffer b Harbhajan 13
(57m, 42b, 1x4)
Prince c & b Kumble 23
(68m, 60b, 2x4)
De Villiers (batting) 10
(28m, 26b, 1x4)
Extras (B-1, LB-4, W-1) 6
Total (for 4 wkts, 90 overs) 304
Fall of wickets: 1-132 (Smith), 2-196 (McKenzie), 3-244 (Kallis), 4-291 (Prince).
Bowling: RP Singh 14-1-68-0, Sreesanth 15-3-60-0 (w-1), Kumble 29-8-61-2, Harbhajan 26-2-92-2, Sehwag 6-1-18-0.